Removing "Lock" from files in MaсOS X

by Andrew Zakordonets

Don't know about you, but i keep facing with one problem from time to time in MacOS X. Sometimes i try to delete or modify some files and i get “Operation cannot be completed because the item “File” is in use” or “because the file is locked” message. It can be quite irritating for me, because i like to keep my Trash Bin empty and sometimes, i can't get it empty because some delete files are "used by other application". And recently i found a solution:
chflags -R nouchg /PATH/TO/DIRECTORY/WITH/LOCKED/FILES/ where:

  • chflags = change flags on files/folders such as "locked"
  • -R = recursive or for everything and follow directories within the specified directory
  • nouchg = means the file can be changed
  • /PATH/ = of course is the path to the files you want to change. Something like: ~/Sites/mysite/directory/with/locked/files/ works as well.